Train Dogs to "Sniff Out" Landmines & Save Lives

  Thank you for your continued support of the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI)!  Because of your generous donations, MLI's life-saving Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs) were able to "sniff out" more than 1,500 acres of mine-affected land in the past two years!   One of these remarkable dogs, MDD Betsy, has been working in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  MDD Betsy has been working with her handler, Alden Cesko, since 2009 at the Federal Administration of Civil Protection (FACP), which is doing great demining work in Bosnia with MLI's donated MDDs.  

  Alden and Betsy have formed an incredible bond over the past five years, as they work together daily to ensure that the people of Bosnia are safe from the deadly dangers of landmines. This year, FACP nominated Alden and Betsy for MLI's prestigious Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year Award, which is given to the top performing MDD team in the world.  In their nomination for Alden and Betsy, the FACP stated that, “Alden Cesko is one of the most respected and trusted handlers in the Federal Administration of Civil Protection. On many occasions his professionalism, personal bravery, technical expertise, and attitude towards work have made the key difference on tasks in which he was engaged. But what is the most inspiring about Alden is the love that he shares with his dog, Betsy.

   The trust and confidence that everybody at FACP has in this team regularly causes Alden and Betsy to engage in the most difficult demining tasks and in the most challenging situations in the field. For example, last year, during heavy forest fires, it was essential that fire trucks reach a town that was in danger of being completely engulfed by flames. With the fires blocking the roads into the town, the fire trucks' only other option was to gain access to the town through a nearby field that was known to be contaminated by landmines.  In almost unbearable conditions Alden and Betsy led a search party that cleared the path through the minefield and enabled the fire trucks to reach the fires and save the town from destruction."

   MDD Betsy and Alden have also performed heroic work during the past 9 months, following the catastrophic floods that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2014. In addition to the terrible damage directly inflicted by the floods, another major issue has been the number of landmines that were washed out of marked mine-fields and into new and unknown locations.  Since the floods, landmines have been found in people's yards and in heavily populated areas that had previously been cleared of all mines.  Working in very difficult conditions and wading through piles of debris left behind by the floods, MDD Betsy and Alden have been searching for mines and UXO in these new unmarked areas, where it is suspected that mines may have drifted with the flood water.  They have located dozens of landmines in these searches, saving countless lives.

  Together, MDD Betsy and Alden have searched more than 60 acres of mine-affected land in Bosnia and Herzegovina, enabling thousands of people to use their land safely without fear of landmines.  Their hard work and dedication made MDD Betsy and Alden very deserving of MLI's 2014 Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year Award!  

Links:

• Visit our website
• Follow us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter

Thank you for your continued support and interest in the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) and our humanitarian programs.  Your support of our Mine Detection Dog (MDD) program through GlobalGiving has made a real difference in the lives of people living in mine-affected communities around the world.  One of the most effective tools for finding landmines are highly trained MDDs that are able to “sniff out” the landmines, which are often small, plastic, and buried in the ground. By expediting the rate at which land is cleared, the MDD teams not only save lives, but also positively impact the socio-economic growth of fragile post-conflict countries and the likelihood that these countries will remain at peace. In each country where MLI has developed an MDD capacity, the beneficiary countries have gone onto expand their MDD programs, recognizing the great value that they provide.

Over the past 17 years, MLI has provided 199 highly trained mine detection dogs to mine-affected countries around the world. Currently, MLI has 106 MDD teams actively working in Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Lebanon and Sri Lanka. 

Your generous support of our Mine Detection Dog Program has helped us continue to expand our program in countries like Afghanistan, where we have donated 28 life-saving dogs.   Two of these dogs, MDDs Country and Spirit, are working with the Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA) and have spent the first half of 2014 searching mine-affected land in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, where demining is vital for reconstruction efforts, rehabilitation, and the peace and stability of the surrounding communities. Country, Spirit, and their MDD colleagues have searched over 94,356 m2, or 23.32 acres, of mine-affected land in the past few months! They have located dozens of landmines and unexploded ordnances, saving countless lives.  Indeed, in the past two years, MDD Country has located 83 landmines and 985 unexploded ordnance (UXO)! He also sniffed out 18,645 fragments of UXO and mines that were still contaminated by explosives and considered dangerous.  

Recently, DAFA assessed the socioeconomic impact of minefield clearing. Its findings show that local communities have already started using the cleared land for various purposes, which has significantly improved their social and economic status. The DAFA team interviewed many members of the impacted communities and were pleased to hear the overwhelmingly positive responses and appreciation for their demining efforts. For instance, the team interviewed Jumal Gul Khan, a community leader from the Tarilay Village, Rodat District, who answered the following questions:

1. Were the mines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERWs) causing you problems before the demining process? If yes, what sort of problems?
Mines and ERWs were a big threat and a huge obstacle in our daily activities. We were unable to use our lands for cultivation, grazing of animals, or firewood collection. Even our children were in trouble while playing around the mine-contaminated areas.
2. Do you know who requested that the mines be cleared?
We collectively consulted to rescue our villagers from this hidden enemy in order to utilize our land to fulfill our economic needs, rather than leave the country and work as daily wage earners.
3. What difference, if any, will it make in your life when the clearance is completed?
After the clearance of our land from the threat of mines & ERWs, we will be able to cultivate our lands, graze our animals, and send our children to school or anywhere else without fearing for their safety; I could give you many other examples.
4. Can you give a specific example of a benefit that you expect? For example, how much money will you make from cultivating the land?
As you know, in Afghanistan many people depend on farming; agriculture allows Afghans to feed their family members; this is the biggest example of a benefit. […] Once my land is cleared, I will stop working as a porter and will return to working my own lands. Thus, I will no longer have to work for others, and all the income I generate will remain mine.

************************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks to your continued support of our programs, MLI has been able to help people like Jumal and our dogs have been able to "sniff out" dangerous explosives and save and impact thousands of lives. Mine-safe land has brought peace and security to entire communities in countries like Afghanistan; parents no longer fear for their children as they walk to school, animals can graze freely, and more land is available for farming. Because of the generosity of caring, global citizens like you, entire communities are able to live in peace and security.